Southern African Armed Forces
Not to be confused with the South African National Defense Force, which is the territorial militia of South Africa. The Southern African Armed Forces (SA-AF) is the unified military force of the Southern African Confederacy. The commander-in-chief of the SA-AF is the President of the Southern African Confederacy and appoints the Chief of Defense Staff. The role of the SA-AF is to protect the territory of the SAC from foreign threats - which up until August 2012 was the Hurian Federation. Between 1994 and 2012, most bases and troops were located on the Two Kilo Buffer, also known as "Kilo," however, have since been dispersed across the country. Territorial militias are responsible for responding to domestic threats and do not form as part of the SA-AF. These independent militias can however be asked by Parliament to assist the SA-AF. Organization Unlike other armed services, the SA-AF, basically similar to the former Canadian Armed Forces, is unified. That means that recruits do not apply to either the army, navy or air force, but rather the SA-AF as a whole. Administrative commands The administrative commands are the basic organizational divisions of the Southern African Armed Forces. MILCOM consists of the top leaders of the military and has the Office of the Chief of Defense Staff as a subordinate. BORCOM administrates all units stationed on the borders of the Southern African Confederacy. The following are subordinate commands to the aforementioned and also act only administratively: Combatant units The combatant units make up the actual military force of the SA-AF. Rank structure and military organization The Chief of Defense Staff is the only holder of the full-General rank. The Deputy Chief of Defense Staff as well as a third trusted general officer hold the rank of Lieutenant General. There is no limit on the amount of Majors- or Brigadiers General. The ranks, from highest to lowest, apply to each formation of the military: *General *Lieutenant General *Major General *Brigadier General *Colonel *Lieutenant Colonel *Major *Captain *Lieutenant I *Lieutenant II *Sergeant Major *Staff Sergeant *Sergeant *Corporal *Private I *Private Normal enlisted men are only able to reach the rank of Staff Sergeant. They must apply at the Military Officers Academy and pass a six-month course to be awarded an Officer Certificate, making them eligible to be promoted past Staff Sergeant. Most of the combatant units have the suffix "-Corps," however, this does not have any literal binding to what a corps is or how it is traditionally managed. Usually, anything from a Colonel onward can lead a corps, however, Lieutenants Colonel or Majors may also assume the role of acting commander should the need arise. Conscription and reservists Once reaching the age of 18, all able-bodied citizens must report to their nearest military office and sign up for the mandatory three-week training course. Three months after being completed, the Border Command chooses the top-candidates of the past three months and enters them into the reserve force. Currently, there are over 8,000,000 reservists. Reservists are required to always be on standby, however, are not required to take part in day-to-day activities. Equipment Firearms *Vektor SP1 - Standard issued sidearm. *Vektor R4 - Standard issued assault rifle. *Vektor SS-77 - General purpose machine gun. *RPG-7 - Anti-tank weapon. *SMAW - Anti-tank weapon (awaiting contract approval). *Starstreak - Surface-to-air missile launcher. *M40 - Recoilles rifle. *AK-47 - Backup assault rifle. Ground vehicles *Elephant MBT (250) - Main battle tank. *T-34 MT (30) - Medium tank. *T-54/55 MBT (20) - Main battle tank. *Angola MBT (50) - Main battle tank. *Angola APC (120) - Armored vehicle. *Rooikat AFV (240) - Armored personnel carrier and fighting vehicle. *Ratel IFV (2100) - Infantry fighting vehicle. *Mamba APC (540) - Armored personnel carrier. *RG-32 (400) - Light armored personnel carrier. *Buffel APC (2400) - Armored personnel carrier. *Mfezi Ambulance - Armored ambulance. *Casspir (390) - Armored personnel carrier. *Marauder - Armored personnel carrier. *BRDM-2 (15) - Armored patrol car. *BTR-60 (20) - Armored personnel carrier. Artillery *G7 howitzer (30) - Towed howitzer. *G6 howitzer (45) - Self-propelled howitzer. *G5 howitzer (75) - Towed howitzer. *Valkyrie (120) - Multiple-rocket launcher. *Bofors 40mm - AA autocannon. *Oerlikon 35mm (150) - AA cannon. *Crotale - AA launcher. Non-combat ground vehicles *SAMIL range of trucks - Logistics and troop transport. Aerial vehicles *SAAB Gripen (22) - Fighter. *Dassault Mirage (100) - Fighter. *Sukhoi Su-27 (6) - Fighter. *Canadair CF-5 (15) - Fighter/fighter trainer. *Chengdu J-7 (30) - Fighter/fighter trainer. *Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (25) - Fighter/fighter trainer. *Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (26) - Fighter/fighter trainer. *Sukhoi Su-22 (8) - Ground attack. *Sukhoi Su-25 (8) - Ground attack. *Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano (6) - Ground attack. *BA Hawk - Fighter trainer. *Hongdu JL-8 (12) - Fighter trainer. *Pilatus PC-7 (92) - Trainer. *Embraer EMB-312 (5) - Trainer. *Atlas Oryx (40) - Logistics and troop transport. *Denel Rooivalk (15) - Attack helicopter. *Mil Mi-24 (15) - Attack helicopter. *Agusta A109 (30) - Transportation. *Mil Mi-8 (48) - Transportation. *C130 Hercules (10) - Transportation. *Dakota - Transportation. *An-26 (12) - Transportation. *An-12 (10) - Transportation. *Boeing BBJ (2) - Executive transport. *Boeing 707 (2) - Executive transport. *Dassault Falcon 900 (2) - Executive transport. Maritime vehicles *Valor class (4) - Frigate. *Marinheiro class (1) - Corvette *Heroine class (3) - Submarine. *Warrior class (4) - Fast attack craft. *Namacurra class (30) - Patrol boat. *T Craft class (4) - Patrol boat. *OSA class (6) - Mine-boat. *Shershen class (4) - Torpedo boat. *22 inland patrol boats. *Yevgenya class (3) - Minesweeper. *Polnocny class (3) - Amphibious warfare vessel. Defense industry The following are among the SAC's largest defense contractors, mostly from South Africa due to the recent Apartheid isolation: *Denel *Reutech *Paramount *Armscor *BAE South Africa *OMC *Truvelo *Milkor See also *Southern African Confederacy *Politics and government of the SAC category:SA Confederacy